A drawn Oliver Curtis took off his wedding ring and tie, and hugged and kissed his tearful wife Roxy Jacenko goodbye, before being led away by corrective services officers on Friday to begin a year-long stint in jail for conspiracy to commit insider trading.

The 30-year-old son of Nick Curtis, former Macquarie banker and resources millionaire, appeared resigned to his fate as Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced him to a maximum of two years in prison, to be released after one year on a good behaviour bond.

Curtis must have known what he was doing was “very wrong” but believed he could “avoid getting caught”, Justice McCallum said in a strongly-worded judgment delivered in the historic St James Supreme Court in Sydney.

He had used the proceeds of an illegal deal with his former best friend John Hartman, son of prominent north shore obstetrician Keith, to cash in on inside information to “fund a lifestyle of conspicuous extravagance”.

The sentence marks the latest chapter in a peculiarly Sydney tale of greed and privilege.

The court heard the old boys of St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, then aged in their early 20s, made $1.43 million in a year using confidential information acquired by Mr Hartman during his job as an equities dealer at boutique firm Orion Asset Management to bet on shifts in share prices.

Mr Hartman, the Crown’s star witness, has already served 15 months behind bars after confessing to a string of insider trading offences, a small number of which related to the tips he passed on to Curtis.

Curtis, who was working at boutique investment bank Transocean Group at the time of the offences in 2007 and 2008, had expressed “no contrition to any degree whatsoever” until after the jury found him guilty on June 2.

“While many people have spoken of his positive qualities in business and as a family man, he shows no sign of progression beyond the self-interested pursuit of material wealth which prompted his offending,” Justice McCallum said.

After the sentence was read out, Curtis gave his family in the packed public gallery a small smile and took off his tie, belt, watch and wedding ring.

A wad of cash was removed from his wallet and handed to Ms Jacenko, founder of PR firm Sweaty Betty.

He embraced Ms Jacenko and kissed her three times before he was taken down to the cells underneath the court.

Justice McCallum said a prison sentence had “real bite” as a deterrent in white collar crime cases and the court must be at pains not to treat classes of offending unequally.

Such crimes were not victimless and the offending in this case “saw superannuation funds competing with twenty-year-olds using inside information to pay for a skiing holiday”, she said in a reference to just one of the luxury expenses racked up by Curtis and Mr Hartman.

The co-operation of Mr Hartman with authorities stood in stark contrast to the conduct of Curtis, Justice McCallum said, although his sentence should not be increased on that basis.

She added Mr Hartman had “endured a wholesale, public attack on his character with the patient resignation of a man who had come to terms with the obloquy his past conduct deserved”.

But Justice McCallum said Curtis’ culpability was less than that of Mr Hartman, because he was not the insider with access to confidential information even though he was “complicit” in his friend’s breach of trust.

Justice McCallum rejected his suggestion that Curtis’ loss of career should be taken into account.

As to the intense media scrutiny surrounding the case, Justice McCallum said it had not all been negative and not all of it directed to Curtis.

“There is no evidence that Mr Curtis himself has invited media attention; he is not to be equated with his wife in this context,” Justice McCallum said in a nod to Ms Jacenko’s social media profile.

But Justice McCallum said he had received “more than his share of bad press”, including a “small number of extremely nasty remarks” on social media, and she had “given some small weight to that consideration”.

In an aside on social media commentary, Justice McCallum said it was an irony that after “centuries of relative civility” recent technological advances had allowed an “explosion of dissemination of medieval attitudes”.

In an impassioned reference in support of her husband, tendered in court, Ms Jacenko said she had “no doubt” Curtis would never offend again.

“There has never been a moment that I have had any doubt about his integrity or morals. Oli is a kind, considerate, honest and reliable man,” Ms Jacenko wrote.

The maximum penalty was five years in prison, a $220,000 fine, or both.

CHEERS: Alex Beckett is the winner of the Sydney Wine Show scholarship.MAITLAND’SAlex Beckett,a fourth-year viticulture and wine science student at the University of Adelaide, has been awarded the prestigious 2016 Sydney Royal Wine Scholarship.It gives Mr Beckett, 24, $5000 towards his tertiary studies and a place as a steward at the judging of the 2016 Sydney Royal Wine Show from July 18 to 21.Born and educated in Maitland, Mr Beckett’sparents operate a Maitland truck driver training school.He developed an interest in wine while working part-time in Hunter Valley wineries and cellar doors.

After school, however, he spent two years in a linguistics degree course at Newcastle University, but in 2013 put himself on track to a winemaking career at Adelaide University.

His Sydney Royal scholarship win was announced this week by Sydney Wine Show committee chair, Lyndey Milan.

Ms Milan said the scholarship gave young winemakers the chance to network and learn from industry leaders.

Mr Beckett, who had shown his enthusiasm by acting as a steward at the 2015 Sydney show, would this year gain greater insights into the judging of wines from across Australia from such experts as international judge Michelle Bouffard, said Ms Milan.

Mr Beckett, who graduates from the Adelaide degree course this year, said he counted himself very lucky to have grown up in the Hunter, which created opportunities from his first cellar door job through to the scholarship.

“One of my favourite varieties, due to its unique flavour and quality, is my home region’s Hunter Valley semillon and I’m very much looking forward to helping build the quality of not only the Hunter’s products, but Australia’s, in my career ahead,” he said.

HISTORIC SHOWPIECE: Former Maitland councillor Ray Fairweather worked tirelessly promoting Walka Water Works. Historic Walka Water Works is poised for a new beginning with Maitland City Council tipped to adopt a master plan for the site.

Councillors will vote at a meeting on Tuesday night whether to adopt the plan which will make the historical, political and culturalsignificance of the site accessible to the community.

Walka is located two kilometres north of Central Maitland and comprises 64.2 hectares of Crown land.

While the water works property is owned by the State Government, council pays substantial maintenance costs each year.

Council received a $40,000 grant from the State Government to implement the first stage of the plan which focused on developing educational attractions at the site for school groups and visitors.

The master plan seeks to provide direction on how the site might be developed to create greater meaning for visitors, now and in the future.

The plan has proposed the overarching theme of restoring Body and Mind for Walka’s place activation.

Within this, three themes are identified:

. Water Works. Providing context and introducing the human history of the site –why it is here, its technology, how it has been seen, what it has meant to different generations.

. People in the Landscape. Drawing attention to the impact people can have on landscape and the positive benefits landscape can have on people.

. Ecology. Exploring the flora and fauna of Walka.

The funding council received under the NSWHeritage Grants Program will be used to start the plan and the ongoing implementation of the plan will rely on future government grant opportunities.

An online survey of what interested people most about Walka Water Works found most people enjoythe recreational activities followed by the wildlife and environment.

Some people also suggested extendingbike paths around the reserve, more information and tours, interactive play and observation areas for children and mothers’ groups andmore opportunity for children to interact with wildlife.

She had a little brother awaiting her arrival, a mother and grandmotherready to dote on her.

Yet Letariah –the unborn child killed when her mother wasinjured in a serious accident on the South Coast last October–didn’t exist within the eyes of the law.

Last week the person held responsible for the accident wasjailed for seven months, with a minimumterm of just two months, yether family claim they have been handed a life sentence.

In Nowra Local Court last WednesdayZebulon Wood wascharged with negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm for the injuries caused to Letariah’s mother Tayla –yet the law could not punish him for the death of the 26-week-old foetus.

Heartbroken: Toni Brown at Letariah’s memorial. Pictures: Robert Peet

“The law does not acknowledge unborn babies, but we do acknowledge her,’’ grandmother Toni Brown, of Yallah, said.

“These babies are human, even though they haven’t taken their first breath, they’re still babies.

“We bathed her and dressed her and spent two days with her, and I promised her when I held her that I’d do everything I could to get her name recognised.’’

Ms Brown said not only does she grieve for her granddaughter, but also for her daughter Tayla.

“No grandmother should have to bury their grandchild –now I’m watching my daughter go through such awful mental anguish,’’ she said.

“She held her for two days and didn’t want to let her go –she told the nurses to take Letariah after she fell asleep and she couldn’t bear to part with her.’’

The sentence handed down toWood could never go far enough, said Ms Brown: “My family got given a life sentence.’’

She’s calling on law makers to take another look at the legislation covering the lives ofunborn babies, to give them the acknowledgement they deserve.

It’s not the first time there’s been a call for reform, however under the Crimes Act a child is considered alive only after taking breath.

A bill called Zoe’s Law which would have declared unborn children ‘’legal persons’’ lapsed in late 2014 amid fears it could put restrictions on abortion.

The push for the bill began withthe case of Brodie Donegan, whose unborn daughter Zoe died in 2009 after Ms Donegan was hit by a drug-affected driver while walking.

In 2001, a similar review was sparked after the death of baby Byron, at seven months gestation, after his mother Renee Shields was injured in a road rage attack.

AndQueensland mother, Sarah Milosevic – wholost her unborn daughter Sophie in a crash caused by a drunk driver –is also nowtaking up the fight.

Cherished: A photograph of Letariah’s tiny little feet is one of the treasured mementoes her family holds dear.

By Robert Crawford

Zebulon Wood knew heshouldn’t have been behind the wheel when he drove south on the Princes Highway at Berry on a weekend in October last year.

After all, he was driving with a suspended licence, and had been drinking before getting in the driver’s seat.But what he did next would pale in comparison to the errors he’d already made that day.

In a split second, Wood ran up the back of another car, setting in motion a three-car accident that injured nine people and, most tragically, caused the death of Tayla Brown’s unborn child.

The 18-year-old had been a rear seat passenger in Wood’s car after he’d offered her a lift down the coast to visit a friend.The impact of the crash was so great, despite receiving immediate medical attention, doctors couldn’t save the 26-week foetus.

The tragic story had its conclusion on Wednesday in Nowra Local Court, when Wood, 33, ofNethercote, north west of Eden, was sentenced to seven-months’ jail, with a non-parole period of two months,and disqualified from driving for three years.

Kitchen connoisseur: Leonie Young at The Essential Ingredient, which has returned to Junction Fair. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers. GOURMANDmagnet The Essential Ingredient has returned to its original home at The Junction Fair as the centre’s Sydney-based owner vows to return the shopping venueto its former glory.

Leonie Young founded the franchisedboutique kitchen supply store with a business partnerin 2005 at the centre before moving to a bigger site onDarby Street in 2010.

The move to Cooks Hillallowed the business to build a purpose-built area for its well-regarded cooking school and add a cafe.

However when the opportunity came up for a lease at Junction Fair, Mrs Young said she was attracted by the “high-end” plans of the centre’s owner, Sydney-based Fortius Funds Management.

Fortius bought Junction Fair for $32 million in December, 2014, its asset managerRenaud Herington saying the groupwas attracted by the single-level site with the right demographic in “the best part of Newcastle”.

“We are trying to get Junction Fair back to is former glory,” Mr Herington said of the 25-shop centre.

Fortius has recently signed 12 Rounds gymnasium, is in leaseholdtalks with fresh fruit and cafeoperators and is “actively seeking a seafood operator”, he said.

Newcastle-founded donut business Doughheads has taken on the lease of the former Gloria Jeans site and Mr Herington said Fortius had found its Newcastle dealings “rewarding”.

“The tenancy mix is all Newcastle brands, many which have evolved from a garage or market, so it’s become a real Newcastle centre,” he said.

Though The Essential Ingredient has sacrificed floor space in its newlocation, Mrs Young said it brought welcome benefits. It nolonger has a cafe but has tripled the size of its commercial kitchen for its popular cooking classes,which passersby can observe.

“We’ve had nose marks on the windows from people looking in,” said Mrs Young.

The store will beef up its retail – 40 per cent of its clients are wholesale, in the restaurantsector–and deli, with more cheese andfresh food items including Udder Farm milk and eggs.

Staffed by foodies, chefs or ex-chefs, she saidThe Essential Ingredient was also the preferred Newcastle supplier for brands including MagiMix.

Mrs Young said the store had strong relations with their suppliers and selected products carefully, knowing their knowledge and range of stock will set them apart.

“We have to be meticulous because chefs expect us to know and expect the best at a reasonable price,” she says.

The store will also offer home-style takeaway meals made in house, such as pates, pies and terrines: “It’s also great for cheating at dinner parties, who doesn’t love confit duck,” Mrs Young said.

EURO VISION: Semi Radradra gets in the groove for a potential move to the south of France and a lucrative contract playing rugby. Picture: Getty Images

THURSDAYOne time Knight-for-life-wannabeTariq Sims leaves theCastle for the Gong. The former Knights co-captain has only just got off the Bulli Pass and footage appears of him putting on a Red V jumper and telling fans how good it is to be a Dragon.“It’s been very long time since I pulled on this jersey and it feels great,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to it”. That’ll do me.On the plus side, it should make the coin toss less problematicat the Knights.

FRIDAYThe Maroons camp is in disarray due to a stomach bug. Jacob Lillyman is put in quarantine andAidan Guerra, Matt Scott and Corey Oates also reportedly fallvictim to a dodgy vindaloo.

Dane Gagia is also apparently struggling with a quad strain.Yeah right. Just like Cooper Cronk had a bung ankle. Next they will be trying to have us believethatCameron Smith is too old, Johnathan Thurston is a liability in defence and Greg Inglis is a Queenslander.

The Bunnies host the $lipperies at ANZ. I’m old school when it comes to footy and hate how the modern game has been bastardised. The way I see it,an “edge runner” is what youuse to keep the front lawn tidy and “above the horizontal” is where youend up after a night on the tiles. I can’t believe what I witness in the second half. The Bunnies have a scrum near the quarter-line. The centre feeds the ball underneath the legs of the second-rower for the hooker topick the ball up at lock and passto the prop standing atfive-eighth. Unfortunately for the BunniesCam McGuinness (the hooker playing at lock)knocks on. Then, from the ensuing Eelsscrum, Ken Edwards (the world’s biggestfive eighth) feeds the ball and theleft winger comes across to sendthe right winger over in the corner. Anyone else confused?The try gives the $lipperies an eight-point lead at 20-12.

Any hope of a Bunnies comeback is squashed thanks to a runawaySemi Radradra. The Fijian flyer takes an intercept near his own tryline and motors past seven defenders in a 90 metre dash to the tryline.

SATURDAYThe Storm, already without Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith, lose Cameron Munster and Blake Green for the battle against the Dragons. I’m surprised they even get out of their own half. It’s hardly a glowing advertisement for rugby league. Filthy that I tipped the Storm, I switch channels to the rugby. The Wobblies are equally uninspiring in what is hardly a glowing advertisement for the game they play in heaven. Referee Craig Joubert adds to the frustration. Deadset, memakes the NRL Bunker look like money well spent. Joubert’s performance is only marginally better than the surface.Monster trucks have left smaller tracksthan the scrums doat AAMI Park.

SUNDAYNew Zealand rugby league fans from Bondi to the Bay of Plentyare torn –Chooks or the Once Weres. For two teams who have treated defence as optional for much of the season, they keep their try-line intact for an hour. Enter Shaun Johnson. TheKiwi magician is on one leg but still proves to tricky for the Chooksas he skips and dances his way across for the match-winner.

MONDAYNews breaks that Semi-trailer forgot to put on the anchors after scoring the match-winner against the Bunniesand kept going all the way to Fiji. Apparently he intends to keep on trucking to Bordeaux and alucrative stint in French rugby. It seems the $250k he is on at the $lipperies –that’s $100kless than the Knights are paying Jack Stockwell to play reggies –doesn’t cut the mustard. Semi’s sistertells the Fiji Times that”Semi had discussed his move with my parents and we are supporting him 100 per cent”. Unfortunately Semi forgets to inform the $lipperies of his plans. There is also the little matter of acontract that binds him to Parramatta until 2017. You got to feel for Eels coach Brad Arthur.

It’s a miracle.Gags gets the green light for Origin IIandthe stomach bug which gave the Maroons theEdgar Britts has been flushed down the toilet.

The Gold Coast Titans host the Sea Eagles for the inaugural DCE Cup. Luke Douglas runs intoa hole to open the home side’saccount. The prop is $151 on the Giddy Goatto be first try-scorer.Incredibly $440 has been plonked on the big fella who hadn’t crossed the stripe since the Titans were the Giants.

The home side lead 16-0 after 24 minutes prompting respected Queensland league writer WayneHemmings to post on twitter what everyone is thinking: “Manly are playing like they have backed the Titans”.

TUESDAYLebron James leads the Cleveland Cavaliers to a historic first NBA title.Sharkies fans hope it is an omen as they chase a first premiership since their inception in 1967. One Sharks fan asks on Twitter: @KingJames can you come to Cronulla and bring us one next?Forget Sonny Bill.Imagine King James playing league. He stands 203cm, weighs 113 kilogram, has silky hands and is pure athlete. He’dmake a hell of a back-rower.

Up north, Queenslanders raise a XXXX toCorey Parker after the Brisbane stock horse announces he will retire at season’s end. Parker made his debut as an 18-year-old and has notched 336 games.”It’s a difficult decision to make because there’s a part of them that still wants to play,” saysBroncs coach Wayne Bennett who recently extended his rule until the end of 2019 and just shy of70thbirthday.”But there is another part of them that doesn’t want their teammates looking sideways at them – or the fans or me.If he goes another year he takes that risk.” Something about the pot calling the kettle black.

WEDNESDAYGame day. Suncorp Stadium is pumping. A dayafter sabotaging the Blues final training session with a highlight’s package on the giant screen of Queensland’s biggest and bestmoments,the Maroons roll out legend after legend in the lead up to kick off.

How do the Blues respond? With a song by the Wigglestitled “NSW Blues Song”. Lord give us strength.

Sydney teenager Jed Coates Photo: Facebook”Shoot me, shoot me,” teenager Jed Coates screamed moments before he was fatally shot with a rifle in Sydney’s west after a fight on a State of Origin night two years ago.

The man behind the trigger was high school acquaintance Matthew Perry, 23.

On Wednesday, Perry stood before the NSW Supreme Court and pleaded guilty to murder – eerily on the eve of another State of Origin game.

He stood wearing a grey suit and shirt as he was formally convicted by acting Justice Jane Mathews.

Mr Coates’ mother, Julie Lowe, left the court with family after hearing the guilty plea but did not make a comment.

Mr Coates had been at the Colyton Hotel watching the State of Origin game on June 18, just weeks after celebrating his 18th birthday, when police said he became involved in a dispute with Perry.

A police statement tendered previously to Mount Druitt Local Court said the victim was kicked out of the Colyton Hotel earlier in the night and walked less than two kilometres to Nevada Avenue.

In this street, another fight broke out between the pair. The victim armed himself with a shovel and the accused with a rifle.

Neighbours reported hearing an argument and loud noises in the street just before Mr Coates was gunned down not far from his home.

One neighbour mistook the noise for fireworks let off by fans celebrating the Blues’ Origin win.

Police and paramedics arrived a short time later to find Mr Coates suffering from a single gunshot wound.

He was taken to Westmead Hospital but died just before midnight, less than an hour later.

Richie Campbell in action for Australia in a pre-tournament friendly against Greece. Picture: Getty ImagesUPDATED:Newcastle water polo product Richie Campbell scored three goals then twice in a shoot-out as Australia lost 16-15 to USA in the quarter-finals of the World League Super Finals in China.

Campbell scored twice late, the second with 88 seconds left, to help Australia come back to tie 8-8 at the end of regulation time on Friday night (AEST).

He then converted both of his shots in the extra-time penalty shoot-out, which the USA secured in the second-round of chances.

EARLIER:On Thursday, Campbell scored two goals as Australia lost 10-5 to Greece.

It continued a strong tournament for two-time OlympianCampbell, who scored twice in the opening-game loss to Italy and three times in the win over Japan on day two. The tournament is the last before Australia’s Olympic team is announced. Fellow Novocastrian Nathan Power, who is aiming for his first Olympics,has scored three goals across the three preliminary games.

Campbell said defensive lapses hurt Australia in the loss to Greece, who scored four goals to one in the last quarter.

“It wasa better start from the Aussie Sharks today,” Campbell said.

“We ended up having a lapse just before half-time and again in the third which cost us a few goals the other way.

“Up next we’ve gotthe USA in the quarter-finals, so it’s a team we’re really familiar with and I’m looking forward to a good game.”

Australian coachElvis Fatovic said it was an improved effort from his side.

“Our first quarter was really good, especially in the defence and extra-man defence were excellent against Greece,” he said.

“But we struggled with our organisation of extra-man goals that we only scored one time which was not enough for the team.

“Generally,I thought we played a lot better than our first two games and hopefully tomorrow we will do better again.”

EARLIER: Richie Campbell scored three goals as Australia bounced back with a 13-7 win over Japan in game two of the WorldLeague Super Finals in Chinaon Thursday night (AEST).

Campbell and Aaron Younger led scorers with three goals, while Newcastle’s Nathan Power scored one.

In game one on Tuesday (AEST), Campbelland Power scoredtwo goals eachbut it wasnot enough to stop Australia going down 14-7 to Italy in their opening match.

Goalkeeper James Stanton-French said it was good to bounce back against Japan.

“We went to the video after game one, analysed what was going wrong and it was great to come out against Japan and make the changes we talked about.

“We hadareally good second half, our counter attack started rolling on which was really pleasing to see especially against a team like Japan who are known for their counter attack.

“Then also getting the defensive stops back the other way which is something we spoke about pre-game and hopefully it is something we can carry on for the rest of the tournament.”

Coach Elvis Fatovic was disappointed with the slow start in attack but pleased with the turnaround.

“We controlled our defence and then we created some opportunities of counter-attack.

“We played side defence much better, but we must play like this from the beginning.”

Former NSW governor Peter Sinclair told a royal commission of being stripped and covered in treacle and sawdust as part of an initiation ceremony when he joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1948.

He told the public hearing the experience made him determined that no other naval recruit should endure the same humiliation.

Mr Sinclair, now 81, was executive officer of HMAS Leeuwin, where hundreds of teenage recruits were allegedly abused in the 1960s and 1970s.

He told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse he was “appalled” by what he discovered at Leeuwin when he was stationed there in 1972.

The commission has heard evidence of “rites of initiation” for junior recruits involving horrific sex acts, brutal beatings and bastardisation.

In evidence, Mr Sinclair said initiation ceremonies were not condoned during his period at Leeuwin, in Fremantle, Western Australia.

He told the commission of his own initiation ceremony in which he and other junior recruits were stripped and forced by older sailors to wear what he described as a “male bikini”.

“We were taken into the communal bathroom, stripped . . . covered in treacle and sawdust, the inevitable boot polish number on the chest and back and then we went through a ritual of being sort of hit with towels and gym shoes,” he said.

“It was a very uncomfortable not terribly exciting experience.

“The effect on me was not to go around abusing other people. . . to ensure that this sort of thing never happened again on my watch.”

The hearing into alleged sexual abuse within the Australian Defence Force was told Mr Sinclair was deployed to Leeuwin in 1972 to improve morale following an investigation into bullying and violence at the base.

He left Leeuwin in 1974 but the commission heard evidence physical and sexual abuse continued at the base until the early 1980s.

“I am appalled by that . . . and I am surprised and disappointed that the checks and balances we put in place would allow such incidences to occur,” he said.

Mr Sinclair,told the inquiry that junior recruits “had a duty” to report abuse but a former Leeuwin divisional officer Geoffrey Curran gave evidence that there was a widespread culture of silence.

“Don’t dob a mate in . . . it was part of the culture,” he said. “I accepted it because it was part of the Australian culture at that time.”

Mr Curran, who was in charge of the welfare of junior recruits at Leeuwin in the early 1970s, told the commission he did not receive any direct reports of abuse while stationed there.

The hearing before Justice Peter McClellan is scheduled to run until July 1.